(NewsNation) — West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey tells NewsNation the state’s ban on transgender athletes in women’s sports is “right on the facts, right on the Constitution, and importantly, right in common sense” following oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The high court heard challenges to transgender athlete bans in West Virginia and Idaho, two of 27 states that have enacted such restrictions. Both cases claim the bans violate the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, while West Virginia’s challenge also alleges violations of Title IX, the landmark law prohibiting discrimination in education.

The West Virginia case centers on Becky Pepper-Jackson, a 15-year-old transgender girl who challenged the state’s ban after it passed in 2021. ACLU attorney Joshua Block argued Pepper-Jackson has no competitive advantage over other girls because she transitioned in third grade and never experienced male puberty.

“B.P.J. signed up for school sports because she was an 11-year-old girl starting a new middle school who wanted to meet people, make new friends and be part of a team,” Block told the court. He argued Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause “protect everyone” when no relevant physiological differences exist.

West Virginia Solicitor General Michael Williams countered that the ACLU’s position “turns Title IX, a law Congress passed to protect educational opportunities for girls, into a law that actually denies those opportunities for girls.”

McCuskey criticized the ACLU’s argument, saying it conceded both constitutional claims while trying to create a special class for children who transition young. He disputed claims that the science is settled on whether puberty blockers eliminate competitive advantages.

“I would love for you to have on with me the young women that Becky was competing against, because I think they would have a different count as to whether or not her puberty blockers actually made her someone who was less competitive than them,” McCuskey said.

The attorney general defended the case’s significance despite transgender people comprising less than 1% of West Virginia’s population, noting he stood outside a convention hall with more than 1,000 people rallying in defense of women’s sports.

“Nobody’s talking to the thousands of other girls whose spots on podiums and on teams and with the ability to learn the incredible lessons that sports teach girls: how to be leaders,” McCuskey said.

Chief Justice John Roberts appeared concerned about how a ruling might affect Title IX more broadly. McCuskey said Roberts understands Title IX “has done more to advance women’s rights in this country over the last 50 years than probably anything else.”

More than 50% of women who have become CEOs or government leaders at the highest levels participated in competitive high school or college athletics, McCuskey said.